System and method for destroying flying objects

ABSTRACT

A method for obtaining a sky view of a battle site, comprising launching an interceptor ( 2 ) towards at least one detected flying threat ( 3 ); the interceptor ( 2 ) tracking the threat ( 3 ) using at least one remote sensor for achieving a kill of the threat ( 3 ) at a designated kill site ( 4 ) being at a large range from the at least one sensor; when the interceptor ( 2 ) approaches the kill site ( 4 ), releasing from the interceptor ( 2 ) at least one detachable vehicle ( 7 ) that includes at least one local sensor ( 8 ) for sensing the kill site ( 4 ) from a range considerably shorter than the large range and communicating the sensed data.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the general field of generating picture ofbattle site.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ground-to-air missiles are designated to kill flying objects typicallyenemy aircrafts. Some missiles such as the one known as the “Arrow”,manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries, are capable of destroyingenemy ground-to-ground ballistic missiles such as the “Scud” seriesmanufactured by former Soviet Union and upgraded by other countries, orthe “Shihab” series manufactured by the Islamic republic of Iran.

During missile theatre defense, there is a need to know the real killpicture of the threat. For example, it may well be the case that thetarget flying object (threat) has been damaged, but not destroyed. Notethat, as a rule, the encounter between the ballistic missile and theinterceptor (kill site) occurs at large ranges. Such ranges facilitate avery low resolution of the ground sensors, such as cameras and radarswhich are physically displaced in remote sites relative to the killscene site, and therefore it is difficult to provide accurate killassessment. Moreover, clouds and other atmospheric interferences mayadversely affect the ability to sense the kill site.

Accordingly, due to the insufficient kill assessment, the ground sensorsmay erroneously indicate on successful kill, whereas the threat is onlypartially damaged (e.g. the warhead is still active) and continues inits flight trajectory towards the friendly territory. It may well be thecase that only when the threat approaches the friendly territory it isspotted by the sensors as still harmful, due to the fact that thesensors can now observe the threat in a higher resolution.

At this stage it would be difficult to neutralize the threat since it isas a rule close to its destination in the friendly territory and hasaccumulated high velocity, thus hindering the prospects of anotherattempt of successful kill by launching one or a salvo of interceptorsfrom the friendly territory.

There is thus a need to have substantially real-time indication(possibly visual indication) of the kill picture of the kill site,thereby affording among others better kill assessment, discriminationbetween real threat and decoys and other functionalities, all asrequired depending upon the particular application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides for a method for obtaining a sky view of a battlesite, comprising,

-   -   a) launching an interceptor towards at least one detected flying        threat;    -   b) the interceptor tracking the threat using at least one remote        sensor for achieving a kill of the threat at a designated kill        site being at a large range from the at least one sensor;    -   c) when the interceptor approaches the kill site, releasing from        the interceptor at least one detachable vehicle that includes at        least one local sensor for sensing the kill site from a range        considerably shorter than said large range and communicating the        sensed data.

The invention further provides for a method for obtaining a sky view ofa battle site, comprising,

-   -   a) launching an interceptor towards at least one detected        threat;    -   b) the interceptor tracking the threat using at least one remote        sensor for achieving a kill of the threat at a designated kill        site;    -   c) when the interceptor approaches the kill site, releasing from        the interceptor at least one detachable vehicle that includes at        least one local sensor for sensing the kill site and        communicating the sensed data.

Still further, the invention provides for a method for obtaining a skyview of a battle site in a ground station, comprising,

launching an interceptor towards at least one detected flying threat;

tracking the interceptor using at least one remote sensor for achievinga kill of the threat at a designated kill site being at a large rangefrom the ground station;

when the interceptor approaches the kill site, releasing from theinterceptor at least one detachable vehicle that includes at least onelocal sensor for sensing the kill site from a range considerably shorterthan said large range and receiving the sensed data, for constructing ahigh resolution view of the battle site.

The invention further provides for a method for obtaining a sky view ofan event site, comprising,

-   -   launching an interceptor towards at least one detected threat;    -   the interceptor tracking the threat;    -   when the interceptor approaches the event, releasing from the        interceptor at least one detachable vehicle that includes at        least one local sensor for sensing the event and communicating        the sensed data.

The invention further provides for a device for obtaining a sky view ofa battle site, this device including a vehicle detachable to aninterceptor; the interceptor is configured to be launched towards atleast one detected flying threat; the interceptor is further configuredto track the threat using at least one remote sensor for achieving akill of the threat at a designated kill site being at a large range fromthe at least one sensor; the vehicle is releasable from the interceptorupon approaching the kill site, the vehicle comprising:

-   -   at least one local sensor configured to sense the kill site from        a range considerably shorter than said large range and for        generating digital data indicative thereof; and    -   communication means configured to communicate the sensed data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding, the invention will now be described, by wayof example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a general system architecture, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a general block diagram of a detachable vehicle, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the modules employed by thevehicle of FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A-B illustrate schematically a detachable vehicle accommodatedwithin an interceptor, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates schematically the components that are employed forreleasing the detachable vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a typical interception scenario, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of the computational tasks performedby the vehicle on board processor, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a layout of camera's placement on the detachablevehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Turning, at first, to FIG. 1, there is shown a general systemarchitecture (1) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Asshown, an interceptor (2), e.g. ground to air missile, such as the“Arrow” is launched towards detected threat (3) (e.g. of the Scudseries), for intercepting the latter within a kill site (4). Note thatthe term kill site is not bound to the specific boundaries of theencounter between the interceptor and the threat, but rather is may bealso at the vicinity and/or the surrounding area, all as required andappropriate.

Note that the flight trajectories of the threat and the interceptor aretracked, and on the basis of the estimated flight trajectory (5) of thethreat and trajectory (6) of the interceptor, the kill site (4) can bepredicted. The tracking of the flight trajectories and the determinationof the kill site by ground station and possibly other means fitted inthe interceptor (or elsewhere) is generally known per se and thereforewill not be expounded upon herein. Note that the invention is not boundby any specific trajectory tracking and estimation techniques.

Note that the kill site is normally observed by ground/satellite and/orother remote sensors (such as video cameras), however, due to the factthat the interception is encountered at a large distance from theinterceptor's launching site, the resolution of observing the kill siteis low and accordingly the kill assessment may be poor. In other words,it may well be the case that on the basis of the view obtained by theground sensors, one may conclude that the threat has been destroyed andthat only harmless fragments thereof continue to fly. However, as thefragments approach the defended area and the ground sensor(s) can viewthem in a better resolution, it may be noticed that one (or more) of“the fragments” is, in fact, the warhead which proceeds in its flighttrajectory and may hit the defended area, giving rise to direconsequences. At this stage, when the undamaged threat (by this examplethe surviving warhead) approaches the defended area it would bedifficult to destroy it, since it moves faster and the remaining timeuntil hitting the targeted area is short, and consequently the prospectsof successful hit by another launched interceptor (or salvo ofinterceptors) are considerably lower.

Reverting now to FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention a detachable vehicle (7) that includes sensor (8) (e.g. animage acquisition device such as a video camera) is released from theinterceptor (2) as the latter approaches the estimated kill site (4).The calculation of the timing for releasing the detachable vehicle willbe discussed in greater detail below, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Note that the invention is not bound by any specific manner of releasingthe vehicle, and the latter can be launched, dropped or any otherreleasing manner, all depending upon the particular embodiment. Anon-limiting embodiment describing the release of the detachable vehiclewill be described with reference to FIG. 6. below.

Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown a general block diagram of adetachable vehicle (20), in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. As shown, the vehicle is fitted with a sensor (21) at thefront end thereof. By this specific example, the sensor is a camera ofthe CCD video type covering a predefined field of view. Note that theinvention is not bound by the specific use of video camera as the sensorand accordingly other sensors such as other image acquisition devices(e.g. IR camera, radar, etc.) may be employed.

The vehicle further includes known per se guidance and control system(22) for guiding the camera to observe the estimated kill site, andTelemetry and Antenna devices (23) (also known per se), for facilitatingbroadcast of the acquired image to the ground station, typicallyalthough not necessarily, through satellite communication. The vehiclefurther includes a propulsion system, by this specific embodiment Jetcontrol and GAS bottle (24) for steering the vehicle in response tosteering commands received from the guidance system (22), all asgenerally known per se. The invention is by no means bound by adetachable vehicle of the kind described with reference to FIG. 2.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a block diagram of the variousmodules employed in the vehicle of FIG. 2, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. As shown, a power source (31) feeds asignal processor (32) configured to perform among others the followingoperations: receiving data acquired by the camera (33) through optics(34). The latter are capable of point control of the field of view ofthe camera, in a generally known per se manner. The camera, in its turn,can be configured to desired e.g. resolution, frame rate, colors and/orother parameters, all as generally known per se. The so obtained imagesare subjected to known per se compression techniques (by the signalprocessor 32), and are sent through emitter (35) to antenna (36) forbroadcasting to the ground station through the satellite(s), as shown inFIG. 1. Note that the various modules 33, 34, 32 and the digital video37 are used to generate succession of video images, in a known per semanner. The invention is not bound by this approach.

Note that the overall sky view of the battle site (including the killzone) can be constructed in the vehicle (using processor 32) or in theground station, or partially in the vehicle and partially in the groundstation, all depending upon the particular application.

Those versed in the art will readily appreciate that the invention isnot bound by the specific configurations of the modules as depicted inFIG. 3 and accordingly some of the modules may be modified and/or othersadded, all depending upon the particular application.

Turning now to FIGS. 4A-B, there is shown schematically a respective topview and side view of detachable vehicle (40) (of the kind depicted inFIG. 2) accommodated within the interceptor (41), in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. As shown, the vehicle is fitted at theexternal surface (42) of the interceptor.

By one embodiment, two or more vehicles are fitted within theinterceptor. A no-limiting use of two or more vehicles would be torelease the first one to observe the estimated kill site between theinterceptor and the threat (in the manner specified herein). The othervehicle would be released to view a different event in the sky, say afireball of a previous kill. More specifically, when an interceptorencounters a threat, a fireball is generated in the sky. The fireballmay exist for several seconds but sometimes minutes or more beforedisappearing. In the case of many threats launched towards the friendlyterritory, many interceptors are likely to be launched in order tointercept the threats. If, for example, an interceptor hits a threatgiving rise to a fireball, and in the case that there are additionalflying threats in the close vicinity to the so destroyed threat, itwould be desired to avoid a situation that the next launched interceptor(targeted another threat), would pass through or in close vicinity tothe fireball that was generated as a result of the previous encounter.Now, the vehicle that was released from the previous interceptor canprovide a good picture of the kill site and help to assess whether asuccessful kill has occurred and it can also provide a good qualitypicture of the resulting fireball, however, since the vehicle continuesin its flight trajectory, the picture of the fireball can be providedonly for a short period (up to a few seconds) following the encounter,whereas as specified before, the fireball may remain for minutes. Now,when the next interceptor is launched and targeted against anotherthreat, one of its vehicles can be pointed to the location of thefireball in order to assess the fireball's current state, enabling thusthe ground station to plan a flight trajectory that does not passthrough or in close vicinity to the fireball, if still active. The othervehicle would be used in a standard fashion to view the estimated killsite between the interceptor and its designated threat.

The latter scenario illustrates one out of many possible variants ofusing one or more of the vehicles to generate a picture of an event ofinterest.

FIG. 5 illustrates schematically the components that are employed forreleasing the detachable vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. The vehicle (51) is accommodated within a sabot (52) thatis coupled to a charge (53) and igniter (54). The vehicle, sabot chargeand igniter are all fitted in a canister (56). Once the vehicle isreleased (as will be explained below) the content of the canister isejected and it remains empty. The ejection (being a non-limiting exampleof releasing the vehicle) is generally known per se. Thus, whenreceiving an eject command (as will be explained in greater detailbelow), the igniter (54) ignites the charge (53) which activates thesabot (52) giving rise to ejection of the vehicle in the directionpointed by arrow (55) (opposite the flight direction of theinterceptor). Note, however, that whilst by this embodiment the vehicleis ejected in a direction opposite to the flight direction ofinterceptor (2), the cumulative vector velocity of the vehicle isnevertheless in the flight direction of the interceptor (and approachingthe kill site), due to the velocity conferred to the vehicle when it washosted by the interceptor, prior to the release.

Turning now to FIG. 6, there is shown a typical interception scenario,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Thus, the estimatedinterceptor's trajectory (61) is shown (the calculation thereof can beperformed in either or both the on-board interceptor's processor and theground processor, based e.g. on the position, velocity, and accelerationdata). Also shown is the estimated threat trajectory (62) calculated bythe remote stations, based on the threat tracked data.

The kill site (63) is illustrated at the intersection of thetrajectories (61 and 62). Note, that as is generally known per se, forachieving a kill the interceptor does not necessarily have to collidewith the threat, and depending upon the characteristic of theinterceptor and the threat, a successful kill can occur even when theinterceptor passes in the vicinity of the threat.

Note that by one embodiment, the timing (64) of the ejection of thevehicle from the interceptor is calculated in a manner that will allowthe camera to fall in the basket sphere (65). The latter is defined in amanner such that at any point in the basket (e.g. 66) the field of viewof the camera embraces the kill site. As shown in FIG. 6, the field ofview (67) of the camera that extends from point (66) within sphere (65)embraces the estimated kill site (63). Note that the manner ofcalculating the release timing is not bound by the specific mannerdescribed above, and accordingly other variants for calculating therelease timing are applicable.

Turning now to FIG. 7, there is shown a block diagram of thecomputational tasks performed by the vehicle's on board processor (71)(32 in FIG. 3), in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Thus,based on the target's estimated trajectory data (72) received from theground station, as well as the interceptor's estimated trajectory (73)(as received from the interceptor) as well as the basket sphere (seeFIG. 6) definition module (74), the processor is capable of calculatingthe timing of the release of the vehicle from the interceptor (76), asexplained in greater detail above, with reference to FIG. 6. Note thatthe relative velocity module would take into account the relativevelocity between the interceptor and the detachable vehicle. Therelative velocity affects the timing that the vehicle will reach thesphere and therefore need to be taken into account when calculating therelease timing.

Note that the calculations of each of the parameters per se (estimatedflight trajectories, basket sphere and consequently the release timing)is generally known and therefore is not further expounded upon herein.As mentioned above, the invention is not bound by the specific manner ofcalculating the release timing as described with reference to thespecific example of FIG. 7.

Turning to FIG. 8, it illustrates a layout of camera's placement on thedetachable vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.By this example, six cameras (81 to 86) are placed at the periphery ofthe vehicle (87), each covering a predetermined field of view, and allcovering substantially 360 degrees. Using this layout can simplify thearchitecture of the vehicle (and thereby reduce costs) by obviating theuse of guidance and steering means. The reason is simply that at anystage the kill site is observed by one or more of the cameras even ifthe vehicle is tumbling. Note that by this embodiment there is a need toconstruct the kill site view from the distinct image obtained by thevarious cameras, and this can be achieved e.g. by the on-board processorof the vehicle, by the ground station or by task(s) assigned to both ofthem. Those versed in the art will readily appreciate that the inventionis not bound by the specific configuration described with reference ofFIG. 8. Thus, by way of example, it is not bound by the number ofcameras, their placement scheme (shown by this specific example at thevehicle's periphery ) as well as the manner of constructing the pictureof the kill site.

The so constructed kill site picture, in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention, constitutes an advantage over the priorart solutions in that the high resolution picture facilitatessubstantially a real-time kill assessment. Thus, for instance, due tothe so obtained high resolution picture it can be readily determinedwhether the threat's warhead has been destroyed, and if not, anotherinterceptor or salvo of interceptors cain be launched, leaving the newlylaunched interceptor ample time to have a second attempt to destroy thesurviving threat's warhead.

Note also that the high quality kill scene would allow the groundstation to identify decoys and if a decoy is encountered it may benecessary to readily launch another interceptor in order to kill thereal threat.

Note that the use of detachable vehicle or vehicles in accordance withthe invention is not bound to specific events in the sky and theoperational scenarios described herein are provided by way ofnon-limiting examples only.

The present invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, but those versed in the art will readily appreciate thatvarious alterations and modifications may be carried out, withoutdeparting from the scope of the following claims:

1. A method for obtaining a sky view of a battle site, comprising, a)launching an interceptor missile toward at least one detected flyingthreat; b) tracking the at least one detected flying threat using atleast one remote sensor, the interceptor missile configured to achieve akill of the at least one detected flying threat at a designated aerialkill site at a large range from the at least one remote sensor; c)releasing from the interceptor missile, when the interceptor missileapproaches the kill site, at least one detachable vehicle comprising atleast one guidable local sensor configured to sense, within a basketsphere, the aerial kill site from a range shorter than the large range;and d) communicating the sensed data, wherein from any point in thebasket sphere the at least one guidable local sensor is capable ofsensing the aerial kill site and the basket sphere is determined basedupon a threat flying trajectory and an interceptor missile flyingtrajectory.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flyingthreat is a ground-to-ground missile.
 3. The method according to claim2, wherein the ground-to-ground missile is of the “Scud” series.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the interceptor missile is of the“Arrow” series.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least oneof the local sensors is an image acquisition device, and the methodfurther comprises acquiring a succession of images of the kill site andtransmitting at least one of the images through a communication channel.6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the image acquisition deviceis a video camera.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein thedetachable vehicle comprises a propelling system associated with aguidance system, and the method further comprises steering the at leastone video camera for acquiring images of the kill site.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the detachable vehicle comprises apropelling system associated with a guidance system, and the methodfurther comprises steering the at least one guidable local sensorsubstantially toward the kill site.
 9. The method according to claim 1,wherein the detachable vehicle comprises at least two image acquisitiondevices, and the method further comprises determining a field of view,respective to each of the acquisition devices, each field of view beinga predetermined field of view respective to each of the acquisitiondevices; acquiring a succession of images, using each of the at leasttwo acquisition devices, at the predetermined field of view respectiveto each of the acquisition devices, and transmitting at least one of theimages through a communication channel, for constructing a consolidatedview of the kill site.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein eachof the at least two image acquisition devices is a video camera.
 11. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the senseddata, for constructing a high resolution view of the battle site.
 12. Amethod for obtaining a sky view of an event site, comprising: a)launching an interceptor missile toward at least one detected threat;and b) the interceptor missile tracking the at least one detectedthreat, the interceptor missile comprising at least one detachablevehicle comprising at least one guidable local sensor configured tosense the event and to communicate the sensed data, and wherein thetracking uses at least one remote sensor for achieving a kill of thethreat at a designated kill site, where the event site is different thanthe kill site.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the eventsite includes a fireball of an encounter between a previous threat andthe interceptor missile.
 14. A device for obtaining a sky view of abattle site, the device comprising: an interceptor missile configured tobe launched toward at least one detected flying threat and to track theat least one detected flying threat using at least one remote sensor forachieving a kill of the at least one detected flying threat at adesignated aerial kill site at a large range from the at least oneremote sensor, based on a threat flying trajectory and an interceptormissile flying trajectory; and a vehicle detachable from the interceptormissile, the vehicle is releasable from the interceptor missile uponapproaching the aerial kill site, the vehicle comprising: at least oneguidable local sensor configured to sense, within a basket sphere, theaerial kill site from a range shorter than the large range andconfigured to generate digital data indicative thereof, wherein from anypoint in the basket sphere the at least one guidable local sensor iscapable of sensing the aerial kill site and the basket sphere isdetermined based upon the threat flying trajectory and the interceptormissile flying trajectory; and communication means configured tocommunicate the sensed data.
 15. The device according to claim 14,wherein at least one of the guidable local sensors is an imageacquisition device configured to acquire a succession of images of thekill scene, and the communication means are configured to transmit atleast one of the images.
 16. The device according to claim 15, whereinthe image acquisition device is a video camera.
 17. The device accordingto claim 16, wherein the detachable vehicle comprises a propellingsystem associated with a guidance system configured to steer the atleast one guidable local sensor substantially toward the kill site. 18.The device according to claim 16, wherein the detachable vehiclecomprises a propelling system associated with guidance system configuredto steer the at least one video camera for acquiring images of the killsite.
 19. The device according to claim 14, wherein the detachablevehicle comprises at least two image acquisition devices; each one ofthe acquisition devices is configured to acquire a succession of imagesat a respective predetermined field of view, the communication means areconfigured to transmit at least one of the images, whereby aconsolidated view of the kill site can be constructed.